i know you will. >>> cnn's jason carroll is joining us live from afghanistan. jason, great to see you. great to see you in this venue. >> reporter: yeah. it's great to be here, kyra, with these guys. as you know, we've been following some of them as part of our series, our year-long series. some familiar faces like sergeant randy shorter. he has actually received a promotion since the last time we spoke, now first sergeant randy shorter. sergeant anthony cook. these are two familiar faces. you probably remember them from our series. a newer member who just joined the platoon. we want to introduce you here and give us a sense of what it's been like in this platoon? >> from the moment i came in, the guys gave me that feeling out period, what kind of leader is he? after a while, they accepted me into the platoon. it's just like being part of a family. >> reporter: we talk so much about family. on a holiday like today, obviously, you cannot be with family. you're with each other. how does that feel? >> it helps because we're here together, thick and thin. we go thr